March 27, 2010 - REGINA, Saskatchewan — as of midnight Wednesday, March 31st smokers will be paying 2.7 cents more per cigarette due to a 14.75-percent increase in the tobacco tax. The tax on a package of cigarettes is going from $4.50 to $5.25. Taxes on cut/loose tobacco are going up by 21 cents per gram and cigars by 100 per cent of the retail price, subject to the existing minimum and maximum tax amounts per cigar.

TobaccoWatch.org - let's not forget the famous words of Lynn Greaves, when she was VP of the Saskatchewan Coalition for Tobacco Reduction, "Tobacco taxation has been the strongest tobacco reduction measure that exists in the world today."

In what will likely be the most controversial move, subject to the passing of legislation, First Nations individuals could be seeing a significant decrease in the amount of cigarettes they can purchase tax-free. If the government gets its way, on-reserve, tax-free cigarette purchases will be limited to one carton per customer per week — down from three.

That's already met with criticism from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, which claims the move will cost First Nations businesses millions in lost revenue. "This is a serious infringement on Treaty Rights without the benefit of meaningful consultation," FSIN Vice Chief Morley Watson said in a written statement. "The Province has extended its authority beyond its jurisdiction. The Province is unilaterally changing quotas on how much tobacco First Nations people can purchase. This is Indian Agent mentality. The old Indian Agent would tell us how much grain, wood, fence posts and other goods we could produce and provide for our families."(Fewer tax-free cigarettes for First Nations, 3/24/2010)

While Health Minister Don McMorris said he understands First Nations people might be upset by the proposed change, as far as the government's concerned, it's strictly about health. "I'm going to look at what is better for the health of our general population, how to reduce some of the harmful effects of tobacco use, and that is my only goal is to reduce those harmful effects," he said. "I can understand some of their frustration, but I also understand the costs that it has to the health care system."

Donna Pasiechnik with the Canadian Cancer Society was thrilled with the government's direction. "We recognize that smoking rates are very high among First Nations people," she said. "We know the importance of price in reducing tobacco use and so no smoker was not affected by these measures today."

From a business perspective, Colin Craig, Prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, also praised the government's announced intention to reduce the number of tax-free cigarettes sold on First Nations, stating, "If you can level the playing field between activities on reserve and off, I think that's a step in the right direction."

McMorris said he's "very confident" the legislation will pass.But New Democratic Party (NDP) health critic Judy Junor wasn't enthusiastic about either the proposed legislation or the increase in tobacco tax. While she acknowledged tax increases do lead to decreased smoking, she claimed the decrease is "marginal."

"People will just do without something else," she said. "People who are truly addicted, they're going to go find another way to get the cigarettes and that will be less food, shelter costs, clothing, school supplies, whatever."

All in all, the tobacco-related changes would mean $35.7 million more in revenue for government.

Meanwhile, the beverage alcohol price increase means an estimated $18.1 million more for the province's General Revenue Fund. Effective April 1, most 750-millilitre bottles of premium spirits will go up by 50 cents; 1,140-ml bottles by 75 cents; and a dozen bottles of beer by 75 cents. Higher-end wine and spirits will also increase in price by about five per cent, although cheaper wine products (below $20) in the 750-ml size won't change in price. The alcohol price increases are the result of changes to the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority's markup structure.

This time a total of 11 tons of contraband cigarettes have been caught in two separate hits, Italian news agency ADN Kronos has reported. The operations took place in the Italian city of Ancona on the Adriatic. In both cases the Bulgarians were detained shortly after they got off with their trucks from the ferry boat from Greece.

In the first case, the Italian authorities captured 4 860 kg of cigarettes of the Bon International brand worth EUR 1,044 M. In the second hit, they detained 6 440 kg of the Raquel and Golden Classic brands worth EUR 1,311 M.

The shipments were destined for Germany. The identity of the Bulgarian citizens has not been reported.

"Our [Newfoundland and Labrador] trade practices act, which is supposed to protect consumers, requires that you must be in a direct relationship, what lawyers called privity (a legally recognized relationship existing between two parties), with the person that you want to use that act to assist you to sue and that includes manufacturers," said Ches Crosbie, the lawyer leading the proposed class action suit.

“Our consumer law is the only law in the country that gives consumers no remedy against the manufacturer,” said class action lawyer Ches Crosbie. Crosbie said Wednesday, March 24th that the privity requirement doesn't exist in other provinces.

British Columbia (BC) was the first province to launch legal action against the tobacco companies. Their lawsuit was filed in 2001 to recover billions of dollars allegedly spent by the health-care system for treating “smoking-related disease”.Since the BC lawsuit was filed, six other provinces, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, have jumped aboard the bandwagon and have passed, or are in the process of passing, legislation that will allow similar legal action in their respective jurisdictions. (Does conflict of interest jeopardize public health.., fightantismokertyranny.blogspot.com, 3/23/2010)

March 26, 2010 - BEIRUT: The National Tobacco Control Program within the Health Ministry lashed out Wednesday, March 24th at the interference of advertising associations in the law proposal for tobacco control, and it blamed them for smoking-related illnesses.

“Among all countries in our region, Lebanon has among the highest rates of tobacco smoking, as well as the highest rate of cancer cases. It is specifically the tobacco industry and its partners who are to be blamed for this ongoing epidemic,” the program said in a statement.

The Lebanese Syndicate for Advertising Agencies and the International Advertising Association asked the Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee last week to reconsider its law proposal to ban tobacco advertising, claiming the advertisement sector would be harmed.

The program responded to these claims by saying the syndicate was involved in earlier meetings about the law proposal and that tobacco advertisements only harmed the consumers.

“Advertisements should promote healthy products to the public, not [ones] that have been proven to kill over half of its users,” the statement said, noting that over 3,500 in Lebanon died yearly from smoking.

It said marketing tobacco products encouraged people to smoke, especially youth and children, and turned them into addicts. – The Daily Star

Chancellor announced that tobacco duty will increase from today, March 24th by 1 percent above inflation and then increase by 2 percent in real terms each year until 2014. (Tobacco duty rates will increase by 1 per cent above inflation from today and by 2 per cent above inflation for the next four years.)

Cigarettes, 15p, packet of 20; Cigars, 6p, packet of 5; Hand-rolling tobacco, 15p,25g; Other smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco, 9p, 25g of pipe tobacco.Extra tax - From January 1 next year, every additional 3cm (1.18 inches), or part thereof, beyond this length will be treated as another cigarette. This means that an 11cm cigarette will be treated as two cigarettes, while a 12cm (4.72 inches) cigarette will be counted as three. The Treasury said the move was "a technical change" targeted at tax avoidance.

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) chief executive Deborah Arnott said: "The 15p rise in tobacco tax will encourage some adults to quit but is unlikely to have as strong an impact as a price rise of 5% or more above inflation would have had."However, we are encouraged by the commitment to raise tobacco taxes in future years and urge whichever party that wins the general election to adopt this strategy. Raising the price of tobacco is one of the most effective ways of reducing smoking."

Tobacco Manufacturers' Association chief executive Christopher Ogden said: "On January 1 the Government imposed the largest tax increase on tobacco products in ten years and now, less than three months later, taxes are to rise again. "We question why Treasury would impose a substantial increase in such a short period, when latest HM Revenue & Customs figures show that up to 24% of the cigarette market and 63% of the handrolling market still avoids UK duty, costing the Treasury as much as £11 million per day in lost revenue. "Today's announcement will only provide further stimulus to those who seek to profit from the illicit trade in tobacco."

March 26, 2010 - In an order dated Monday, March 22nd and made public Tuesday, March 23rd, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan has rejected a move to temporarily stop the implementation of a new law restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products in New York City. The judge rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing Company LLC, the maker of moist smokeless products Skoal and Copenhagen, and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands Inc. Both companies are part of Altria Group Inc. (MO).

On Wednesday October 28, 2009, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed legislation on to prohibit the sale of most forms of flavored tobacco products in New York City. The new law is more extensive than the federal Food and Drug Administration’s ban on candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes, which took effect last month. (New York City - ban on flavored tobacco products becomes law..)

A legal challenge was filed Dec. 28, 2009, by U.S Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing Co. LLC and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands Inc. (USST), both Altria subsidiaries. The companies seek to enjoin [for a court to order that someone either do a specific act, cease a course of conduct or be prohibited from committing a certain act] the City of New York from imposing tobacco product standards for smokeless and certain other types of "flavored tobacco products," as outlined in an ordinance signed into law by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Oct. 28, 2009. (U.S. Smokeless Tobacco seeks to enjoin the City of New York from imposing tobacco product standards..

The tobacco companies had argued in part that the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA) pre-empts local laws that establish a product standard with respect to characterizing flavors in cigarettes and delegates authority for adopting additional tobacco product standard to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration."Plaintiffs' gloss on the FSPTCA overlooks several of the Act's key provisions, the lack of an actual conflict between the federal and local law, and the judicial presumption against preemption in matters of health and safety, " the judge said. "Therefore, the Court finds it highly unlikely that plaintiffs will ultimately prevail on the merits, and their motion for a preliminary injunction is denied."

In October 2009, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed an ordinance into law that bans the sale of flavored tobacco products, other than cigarettes. Flavored tobacco products can be sold in tobacco bars in the city, of which there are a limited number.

The smokeless tobacco maker sued in December.

The city law describes a "characterizing flavor" as a "distinguishable taste or aroma, other than the taste or aroma of tobacco, menthol, mint or wintergreen, imparted either prior to or during consumption of a tobacco product or component part thereof, including, but not limited to, tastes or aromas relating to any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice."

The ordinance had been set to go into affect Feb. 25.

"The court correctly upheld this important new law," said New York City Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo in a statement. "Mayor Bloomberg, the City Council and the Health Department have made huge strides in working to protect the health of New Yorkers, and we applaud Judge McMahon for her common- sense ruling."

A lawyer for the tobacco companies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

March 26, 2010 - The first meeting of the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC), will focus on the impact on public health of the use of menthol in cigarettes.

The meeting will be held at the National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center in Washington, DC, on March 30 and 31.

March 25, 2010 - Lorillard Tobacco Company today, March 24th issued the following statement after notification that Dr. J. Daniel Heck, the company's principal scientist, will serve as a non-voting representative of the tobacco manufacturing industry on the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration.

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee consists of 12 members, including the Chair to be selected by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, from among experts knowledgeable in the fields of medicine, medical ethics, science, or technology involving the manufacture, evaluation or use of tobacco products. There will be nine voting and three non-voting members. Of the nine voting members, seven will be health care professionals practicing in the area of oncology, pulmonology, cardiology, toxicology, pharmacology, addiction, or any other relevant specialty. One member will be an officer or employee of a state or local government or the federal government, and the final member will be a representative of the general public.

The three non-voting members were to be identified with industry interests. These members will include one representative of the tobacco manufacturing industry, one representative of the tobacco growers, and one representative of the small business manufacturing industry. (FDA Moves Forward on Implementation of Tobacco Law..

The first meeting of TPSAC is March 30, 31, 2010.

"With the full membership of the TPSAC now in place, Lorillard looks forward to working with the Committee and contributing to its scientific review of menthol and other topics," the company said. "Lorillard remains confident that a serious examination of menthol science will show that the best available science does not support an assertion that menthol impacts public health. The committee's decision regarding menthol in tobacco is extremely important to Lorillard. Newport, the best selling menthol cigarette in the U.S, gives Lorillard 94% of its revenue, 92% of its volumes, 34% share of all menthol cigarette sales in the US, as well as an overall domestic tobacco market share of 10%. (Lorillard - essentially a one-product company - Newport cigarettes..)

"Dr. Heck has more than 30 years of professional experience in research and a strong record of peer-reviewed articles and studies," the company added. "We are honored that he will serve as the representative of the tobacco manufacturing industry on the Committee, and we are confident his expertise will contribute to a fair hearing that is grounded in good science that advances public policy."

Dr. Heck earned his doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. He has served as Principal Scientist at Lorillard since 2003.

Dr. Heck is a Diplomate to the American Board of Toxicology and a member of the Society of Toxicology. He has served and continues to serve on numerous professional committees, including the Safety Evaluation Coordinating Committee of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) of the United States and the Cigarettes Ingredients Scientific Panel. Dr. Heck also peer reviews manuscripts for many prominent publications, including Toxicological Sciences and Food and Chemical Toxicology, and also serves on the editorial board of Inhalation Toxicology and Beiträge zur Tabakforschung International.

March 25, 2010 - A Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris on Wednesday, March 24th to pay $26.6 million to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer, the latest verdict against cigarette makers in the "Engle progeny" lawsuits. Background: The original Florida lawsuit was filed in 1994 by a Miami Beach pediatrician, Dr. Howard Engle, who had smoked for decades and couldn't quit. The class of smokers was estimated at up to 700,000 when the giant $145 billion award was issued in 2000. (Dr. Howard A. Engle, the veteran pediatrician who lent his name to a landmark class action suit against Big Tobacco, dies..

The Broward County Circuit Court jury in Fort Lauderdale issued the verdict in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Robin Cohen, whose husband Nathan died of a smoking-related illness in 1994 at age 68. The jury awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and divided the blame for Nathan Cohen's death equally at one-third for Altria Group (MO.N) unit Philip Morris, one third for Reynolds American unit R.J. Reynolds and one-third for Cohen himself.

The panel also awarded $20 million in punitive damages, or $10 million for each of the two cigarette companies. That puts the total at $26.6 million, or $13.3 million for each company, if the verdict is upheld on appeal.

Philip Morris said it would appeal on grounds that the trial court improperly eliminated most of the plaintiff's burden of proof. Maura Payne, a spokeswoman for R.J. Reynolds, said it too intended to appeal. "We're disappointed in the verdict," said Payne.The "Engle progeny" cases stem from Engle versus R.J. Reynolds, a landmark class-action lawsuit filed against cigarette makers in 1994. In 2000, a Florida jury found that cigarettes cause lung cancer and other illness, and ordered the tobacco companies to pay a record $145 billion in punitive damages to sick smokers.

In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court threw out the award and decertified the original class of about 700,000 Florida smokers but said individual cases could proceed. Thousands of such cases are working their way through the courts. (Cigarette Makers Face Thousands of New Florida Lawsuits..)

Jury verdicts have been reached in 13 Engle progeny cases in the last 13 months, and plaintiffs have won 11 of them, counting the Cohen case, said Edward Sweda, a senior attorney for the anti-smoking Tobacco Products Liability Project.

"We anticipate even more victories for plaintiffs in these Florida lawsuits in the coming weeks and months," Sweda said.

Philip Morris spokesman Murray Garnick said all of the cases that have gone to trial since the Florida Supreme Court's decision raise similar constitutional issues because the trial courts have allowed the findings of an earlier jury to excuse plaintiffs from proving their claims.

"We will seek further review of this verdict because this jury was allowed to rely on findings by a prior jury that are totally unrelated to the individual smoker in this case in violation of Florida law and due process," Garnick said in a prepared statement. (Reporting by Jane Sutton, editing by Matthew Lewis)

March 25, 2010 - Provo » After adopting a ban on smoking in public parks, the Utah County Health Department is turning its attention to tobacco lozenges.

Kari Schmidt, with the department's promotions division, said the department will work on a public-education campaign targeting dissolvable tobacco products, such as Camel Orbs. The products look like lozenges, breath strips or candy sticks, yet contain up to three times the amount of nicotine found in a cigarette.

Schmidt told the Utah County Board of Health this week that an effort to regulate the products, which are packaged like candy or mints, failed to pass the legislature.

Health officials say the products are the tobacco industry's latest attempt to hook people as smoking itself becomes restricted or socially unacceptable. The new products, Schmidt said, appear to be targeted at youth.

Aside from having some of the same health risks and addictive qualities of cigarettes, the lozenges also pose a threat to infants and toddlers who may mistake them for candy, Schmidt said. She said five sticks contain enough nicotine to kill a 1-year-old child. (Poison Control Centers - Camel Dissolvables - Nicotine Toxicity..)

Schmidt passed out containers of the lozenges to give board members a chance to see them. "These don't smell like tobacco," said Utah County Commissioner Gary J. Anderson, after sniffing some of the lozenges. Products look like Tic Tacs

March 25, 2010 - The Scottish government [Holyrood, can be substituted for the Scottish Parliament] said there were currently no plans to ban smoking in private cars and public areas used by children. The comments came in a response to a report by the Royal College of Physicians. It said smoking in cars was an "important and persistent" factor in exposing children to cigarette smoke. Campaign group Forest, which opposes smoking bans, said such moves would be unacceptable and unenforceable.

Royal College of Physicians report concluded: banning smoking in cars would be "the simplest means" of preventing children from being exposed to dangerous tobacco smoke in vehicles. Dr Neil Dewhurst, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), said: "Passive smoking (second hand smoke, shs, sidestream smoke, environmental tobacco smoke, ets, involuntary smoking) exposure levels in children have fallen by 40% in Scotland since the introduction of smoke-free legislation, but exposure levels in children of smokers remain high and demand further legislative action. (Scotland - Definite Health Benefits of Smoking Bans..)Dr. Dewhurst: "We fully endorse today's report which calls for an extension of smoke-free legislation throughout the UK in order to include public areas frequented by children and in cars. The evidence is compelling. Passive smoking exposure significantly increases the risk of a range of diseases in children."

While there are currently no plans to extend the smoke-free laws to private cars, the Scottish Government is conscious that private cars are now one of the main places for exposure of children to second-hand smoke.

Dr Dewhurst said Scotland had led the UK (United Kingdom) in the introduction of smoke-free legislation and he called on the Scottish government to extend this legislation as a matter of priority.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "The successful implementation of the smoke-free legislation has undoubtedly reduced exposure to second-hand smoke among children in Scotland, partly as a result of the greater awareness among their parents and those close to them about the risks of second-hand smoke. "In conjunction with our health improvement partners, we are continuing to do all we can to highlight the risks posed by second-hand smoke."

March 25, 2010 - For the first time in Massachusetts history, the number of youths smoking cigarettes was surpassed by those who smoke cigars or use smokeless tobacco, prompting lawmakers and public health advocate to call for immediate policy changes.

“Smokeless tobacco is really the next wave,” said Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham), who led legislative efforts to impose a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase in 2008.“This is happening because the tobacco industry is sneaky,” said John Auerbach, commissioner of public health, at a rally with Massachusetts high school students Thursday at the Grand Staircase.

According to a new Department of Health (DPH) report, use of smokeless tobacco and cigars among high school students has climbed each year since 2003, reaching 17.6 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, cigarette use among high school students fell to 16 percent in 2009, declining from a peak of 35.7 percent in 1995.

Gov. Deval Patrick proposed in his fiscal 2011 budget extending the state’s cigarette tax to cigars and smokeless tobacco, which he estimate would generate $15 million.

“The new cigarette excise rate passed by the Legislature in 2008 did not apply to these other tobacco products,” according to administration budget documents. “We cannot justify this distinction in view of the important health and revenue benefits.”

Under the governor’s proposal, the funds would be directed to support subsidized health care for low-income residents.Rep. Sean Garballey (D-Arlington), told attendees of the afternoon event that he started an anti-tobacco club in high school, and he encouraged other students to do the same.

“Big Tobacco has a lot of money. They’ve been creating new imaging and new packaging that almost makes their products look like Tic Tacs,” he said. “It’s a product that causes cancer. It’s a product that rips our families and communities apart. We are here to spread the word ... Big Tobacco will not trick the kids throughout our commonwealth.”

Speaker Robert DeLeo has said the House budget for next fiscal year will not include new taxes.

Logo Malaysian Custom Dept.March 24, 2010 - KUCHING: A new strategy to penalise retailers who sell contraband (illegal, illicit, smuggled) cigarettes has been employed to curb a growing problem in Malaysia. Instead of only issuing the retailers with compound notices, the Customs Department will now arrest them and bring them to court under the ‘Ops Outlet’ programme that was launched last month. “Only a few cases were brought to court last year, whereas in the first two months of this year, more than 100 cases have been brought to court,” said the department’s deputy director-general Datuk Mohamed Khalid Yusuf.

Retailers who sell contraband cigarettes will be fined 10 times the value of cigarettes seized from them upon conviction.

Khalid said that the new strategy was aimed at breaking the supply chain of this growing smuggling industry. The department believed that smokers would not buy contraband cigarettes if they were not easily available in the market.

The department seized contraband cigarettes with a market value of RM70mil in 2009, an increase of about RM12mil compared to 2008. In the first two months of 2010, contraband cigarettes worth RM17mil were confiscated. Most of the cigarettes were smuggled from neighbouring countries and are imitation products made in China. Other than illegal cigarettes, the smuggling of liquor, beer, vehicles and drugs also topped the department’s list.Khalid said the department was concerned about the number of foreigners caught for drug smuggling. He said 46 people were arrested last year with drugs valued at RM64.7mil seized; 40 of them were from India, Iran, Pakistan and Japan. “All 14 people arrested this year were foreigners; they were from Iran, Thailand, Nigeria and New Guinea and RM26.4mil worth of drugs were seized,” said Khalid.

Asean country representatives are discussing technical matters on the establishment of the Asean Single Window (ASW), which is to be completed before 2015.

"I suggested the bill to protect pregnant women and children from second-hand smoke on streets and at other public spaces," Park Hee-sung, a city councilor, said. "It also secures the right to smoke by designating smoking areas."

According to a survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs last year, nearly 60 percent of respondents complained about second-hand smoke in public areas. More than 66 percent had complaints about second-hand smoke on streets and 62 percent in restaurants.

The bill would affect public areas such as streets, parks, plazas and outside of municipal buildings. These areas would be required to set up a separate smoking section.

It would also provide incentives to companies participating in non-smoking campaigns. For example, eateries and cab companies working to reduce second-hand smoke would receive tax incentives.

The bill will be discussed in the extraordinary session of the municipal council in June. If passed, the ordinance would take effect from January 2011, fining violators up to 20,000 won.

March 24, 2010 - The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products will, over the next several months, open through the Federal Register a series of what it calls dockets to solicit information on a number of issues related to the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. A docket is defined as a collection of documents, often available for public review, that stores information related to rule making or other action.

At present, the Center has established a public docket so that interested parties can ‘share information, research, and ideas on how use of dissolvable tobacco products may impact public health, including such use among children.

OPEN DOCKETS:

NAME: Impact of Dissolvable Tobacco Use on Public Health; Request for Comments

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is establishing a public docket to provide an opportunity for interested parties to share information, research, and ideas on howuse of dissolvable tobacco products may impact public health, including such use among children. This information will be used to support the work of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, which is charged with evaluating this issue.

Previously, on February 1, 2010, FDA Center for Tobacco Products sent letter to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., maker of Camel cigarettes and the smaller Star Scientific Inc. voicing concern over dissolvable smokeless tobacco products that are consumed like breath mints. The Center is concerned that children and adolescents may find dissolvable tobacco products particularly appealing, given the brightly colored packaging, candy-like appearance and easily concealable size of many of these products," Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director of the Center for Tobacco Products, told the companies. The FDA in the letters are asking both manufacturers for extensive information on research and marketing practices for the products. Star Scientific and Reynolds have two months to respond. (U.S. FDA - concerned that dissolvable tobacco products could draw in children and teenagers..)

Two U.S. senators (Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Sherrod Brown) have labeled as "tobacco candy" the three dissolvable products being test marketed by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The senators say that the dissolvable products are aimed at getting youths hooked on tobacco and nicotine. They said that some of the products are sold in containers "designed to resemble cell phones." "There is no doubt that smokeless tobacco products are aimed squarely at children," Brown said. "We have a responsibility to protect children from suggestive marketing and dangerous products."(U.S. - snuff out dissolvable smokeless-tobacco products before they can get a toehold..)

March 24, 2010 - Smoking is already banned on trains, trams and buses, and is increasingly rare in the workplace. But pubs, restaurants and cafes are still overwhelmingly smoker-friendly. From July 1st they’ll be obliged to put a sticker on the door to say whether the establishment is smoking, non-smoking or mixed with a separate smoke-free room. Analysts predict that most will choose the first option, in a bid not to lose customers. (Czech Republic - crackdown on tobacco use long way off..)

Smoking will not be allowed in more than half of restaurants in Prague and also in a vast majority of Czech luxurious restaurants as of July in connection with a new law, Pavel Hlinka, Czech Hotels and Restaurants Association, told yesterday's issue of the daily Pravo.

As of July, Czech restaurant owners must decide whether they allow or ban smoking in their facilities. They also can have separate smoking and non-smoking rooms that are not connected.Hlinka said village pubs where men play cards over a beer and cigarette rather than eat a meal will allow smoking. He claimed that it would destroy many marriages if men were not allowed to smoke in village pubs because they would relax at home, smoking and drinking. People in more expensive village restaurants often do not smoke even now, he told the paper. He said most hotels already banned smoking some time ago because their guests prefer a no-smoking environment.

March 24, 2010 - Reynolds American Inc.(RAI) CEO Susan M. Ivey made $16.2 million last year, about 84 percent more than the previous year (Ivey's compensation was valued at $8.8 million in 2008) as the nation's second-biggest tobacco company struggled with declines in cigarette demand, according to a calculation by The Associated Press based on government filings. Ms. Ivey has been President and Chief Executive Officer of RAI since January 2004, and was elected the Chairman of the Board of RAI effective January 1, 2006.

Last year, the maker of Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes, and Kodiak and Grizzly smokeless tobacco saw its profit fall about 28 percent as revenue fell by 4.8 percent. The cigarette maker raised prices to offset sales volume declines it blamed on the economy and a 62-cents-per-pack federal tax increase that began in April. During the year, Reynolds dealt with several factors that contributed to a sales decline. Some were related to consumers smoking less and buying discount brands in response to higher state and federal excise taxes, and also having less disposable income.

In 2009 R.J. Reynolds’ total cigarette volume declined 8.7%, compared with the industry decline of 8.6%. With respect to cigarette market share, R.J. Reynolds’ full year share was essentially flat at 28.3%, as overall growth brand gains largely offset declines in support and non-support brands. (Highlights - Reynolds American Inc. q4 2009 and full year earnings..)

March 24, 2010 - Twenty of Britain’s most senior doctors call today for a ban on smoking in cars as part of a sweeping expansion of laws to protect children against the effects of inhaling smoke. Writing in a letter to The Times, the doctors argue for more anti-smoking legislation to address the serious health problems caused by passive smoking (second hand smoke, SHS, sidestream smoke, environmental tobacco smoke, ETS, involuntary smoking).

The signatories, including 13 presidents of medical royal colleges, urge the Government to bring in laws prohibiting all smoking in vehicles and in public places visited by young people such as parks and playgrounds.

The letter recommends a comprehensive strategy to cut adult smoking and children’s smoke exposure outside and inside the home. About two million children are exposed to cigarette smoke at home, with a child twice as likely to take up the habit if a close family member smokes.

The doctors say that the national strategy must include tobacco price rises, media campaigns, more effective health warnings and better provision of smoking cessation services.

A report today by the Royal College of Physicians warns of the toll on health and the NHS caused by passive smoking. It concludes that more than 300,000 GP (general practitioners) appointments and 9,500 hospital admissions a year are caused by the effects of smoke on children, costing the NHS about £23 million (34,328,825.41 USD). Paediatric health problems attributable to second-hand smoke include 20,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infection, 120,000 cases of middle-ear disease and 200 cases of bacterial meningitis, it estimates. About 40 sudden infant deaths are also caused by passive smoking annually.

The doctors writing in The Times point to the report’s evidence of passive smoking “as a major cause of death and disease in children [which can] be avoided entirely”.They argue: “Smoke-free legislation needs to be extended much more widely, to include public places visited by children and young people, and including prohibition of all smoking in cars and other vehicles. As doctors we call on the Government to take the necessary action to protect our children’s future.”The report’s authors, the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians, concluded that laws banning smoking in enclosed public places, introduced in Scotland in 2006 and the rest of the UK in 2007, had been highly effective. But there were “still gaps that needed to be closed”.

The change in the law was supposed to cover vehicles used for work but it was rarely enforced, the group said. A total ban would address the problem, and ensure all children were protected. However, it remains unclear how rigorously police officers would enforce any change to criminalise all motorists and passengers who smoke.

John Britton, the report’s lead author, said that new measures could include banning parents from smoking at school gates, but added that it would be difficult to legislate for situations such as family parties in private gardens. “This report isn’t just about protecting children from passive smoking, it’s about taking smoking completely out of children’s lives. Adults need to think about who’s seeing them smoke.”

Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, said that the report was very valuable and would be considered in the Department of Health review of the legislation in England this year.

The Welsh Assembly Government said it had commissioned a tobacco control group to advise specifically on how to protect children, while a Scottish Government spokeswoman said it was conscious smoking in cars was a source of exposure that needed highlighting but had no plans for a ban. Northern Ireland is to conduct its own review.

Simon Clark, of Forest, which campaigns for smokers' rights, questioned the figures used in the report, noting that cases of asthma had been rising as the number of smokers had fallen.

Just the thought of such an intention has the tobacco industry fuming. They are most annoyed with the main aim of the newest amendment: to make Finland smoke-free by 2040 by decreasing the number of smokers so low that smoking becomes a very minor issue. Tobacco giant Philip Morris Finland has already lodged a complaint about the matter with the Chancellor of Justice. ”The goals and methods of the anti-smoking bill are unrealistic… The proposed legislation could have unanticipated repercussions, and naturally we cannot support such initiatives,” declared Marju Vähimaa, CEO of Philip Morris Finland. The industry, which is dominated in Finland by British American Tobacco, Phillip Morris International and Imperial Tobacco, believes the smoke-free goal is unrealistic and constitutional problems need to be resolved.The opening paragraph from the Tobacco Act of 2009, currently being discussed by Finland’s parliament: The aim of this act is the cessation of the use of tobacco products that are addictive and include toxic substances.” It is a bill comprising a series of the toughest anti-tobacco legislations known and is part of Finland’s vision of becoming the first non-smoking country in the world. It has gone further than any other country has been prepared to go in Europe and this has certainly caught the attention of the industry.

Finland has been a forerunner in regulation – it banned direct tobacco advertising in 1976 and forbad smoking in work places in 1995. The Tobacco Act was proposed in October 2009 and includes the banning of tobacco product displays and any remnant of brand trademarks.

Retail display bans may be nothing new but on this occasion it will be a blanket ban, where the customer will have to ask at the counter for tobacco products and then choose from a list provided by the retailer. In Finland, tobacco cannot be sold to anyone under 18 and it is also illegal to be in possession of tobacco at that age. Prohibitions on smoking are to be extended to areas where children and young people are present. Smoking in vehicles will also be banned when a minor under 18 is present as well as in joint facilities on housing estates.

The proposal also states that lighting up in hotel rooms will be permitted in only some of the rooms; in addition, smoking at events and conventions that are organised to take place outdoors is also on the blacklist and will be banned.

It does not stop there. Vending machines selling cigarettes will be outlawed and the sale and supplying of snuff is to be illegal. Prison sentences of up to six months will be introduced for the contravention [violation] of any of laws regulating tobacco sales and the same maximum sentence will apply to the breaking of prohibitive laws regarding underage smoking.